Magento is an ecommerce platform, now owned by Adobe, that, at the time of writing, powers over 101,329 online stores worldwide. Many of these stores below are larger retailers and B2B businesses with complex catalogues.
While the Magento platform itself is still actively developed, Adobe only supports each version for a limited time, typically three years of standard support. Once a version reaches the end of its support window, it stops receiving security patches and bug fixes. Older versions often rely on PHP releases that have also reached end of life.
Once Magento support is no longer offered, this leaves stores exposed to new vulnerabilities, puts PCI compliance at risk and makes extensions and integrations increasingly unreliable.
In recent times, talk of Adobe ending Magento support has been getting a lot more attention. That’s because in August 2026, support for versions 2.4.5 and 2.4.6 ended on the same day. Adobe also introduced a stricter enforcement policy, meaning that stores on unsupported versions could soon have their storefront taken offline.
In this post, the Imaginaire team is here to walk you through the key information about Magento support ending. Crucially, this includes when each version of Magento will lose its support and what to do next if your store is affected.
What is Magento?
Magento is an ecommerce platform used to build and run online stores, known for its flexibility and ability to handle large catalogues and complex B2B requirements. It was acquired by Adobe in 2018 and is now available as the free, self-hosted Magento Open Source and the paid enterprise version, Adobe Commerce.
What is Magento support and why is it ending?
Magento support describes the period that Adobe provides security patches, bug fixes and technical assistance for a specific version of the platform.
Each version of Magento typically receives three years of standard support from its release date, with an optional extra year of extended support for paying Adobe Commerce customers.
Support ends because Adobe works on a rolling release cycle, retiring older versions as newer ones replace them and because those older versions rely on PHP releases that are themselves reaching end of life.
It's the support for individual versions that ends rather than Magento itself, but stores left on an unsupported version are exposed to security and PCI compliance risks.
Magento support end dates by version
Scroll down to find your applicable Magento version to see when your support will end:
Magento 1.x
- End of standard support: June 30, 2020
- End of extended support: N/A
Magento 2.3
- End of standard support: September 2022
- End of extended support: N/A
Magento 2.4.4
- End of standard support: April 12, 2025
- End of extended support: April 14, 2026
Magento 2.4.5
- End of standard support: August 12, 2025
- End of extended support: August 11, 2026
Magento 2.4.6
- End of standard support: August 11, 2026
- End of extended support: August 31, 2027
Magento 2.4.7
- End of standard support: May 31, 2027
- End of extended support: May 31, 2028
Magento 2.4.8
- End of standard support: May 31, 2028
- End of extended support: TBD
Magento 2.4.9
- End of standard support: May 31, 2029
- End of extended support: TBD
It’s also important to note that extended support only applies to paying Adobe Commerce customers. Magento Open Source users lose patches at the end of standard support.
What are the implications of Magento support ending?
Let’s be clear: if your version of Magento will no longer be supported, your store won’t mysteriously vanish at midnight. However, as with support ending for any type of tech, there will be implications that start to appear over time.
Namely, once support ends for your particular Magento version, these are the types of issues that will start cropping up:
No more security patches: Once a version is out of support, patches for new flaws are never released, so any vulnerability discovered afterwards stays open. Magento sites are a common target for card skimming attacks, so this is the biggest risk.
PCI compliance risk: Older Magento versions run on outdated PHP. Magento 2.4.5 runs on PHP 8.1, which reached end of life on December 31, 2025 and Adobe's own documentation flags that running on end-of-life PHP puts PCI compliance at risk. For any store taking card payments, that's a serious issue.
Hosting pressure: Hosts eventually drop dead PHP versions from their platforms entirely, which can force an upgrade on someone else's timetable.
Extensions stop working or updating: Extension vendors build and test against supported Magento lines, so payment gateways, shipping integrations and other plugins gradually fall behind.
Forced action on Adobe's Cloud: For cloud-hosted Adobe Commerce stores, the lifecycle policy includes a date on which Adobe will take the store offline if it hasn't been upgraded.
Rising cost of staying put: Developers become harder to find, custom patching gets more expensive and every workaround adds technical debt.
Knock-on SEO and performance effects: Older stacks tend to lag on site speed and Core Web Vitals. Also, a hacked or blacklisted site can lose keyword rankings and get flagged in Chrome. All of these issues can impact your SEO efforts.
Needless to say, no ecommerce store needs any of the above headaches since even one of the above issues can impact conversions. Therefore, acting early, whether that means upgrading, replatforming or completing a like-for-like migration, gives businesses time to plan properly rather than reacting under pressure.
Magento support ending: 5 available options to protect your store
Doing nothing about your version of Magento support ending is only viable as a stopgap.
Since security and PCI risk grow over time and hosts will eventually force the issue, action is going to be needed to future-proof your operations.
Here are the realistic paths for a store on an out-of-support Magento version, roughly from least to most disruptive:
1. Upgrade to the latest supported Magento version
Stay on Magento and move to the current release (2.4.8 or 2.4.9).
- Pros: keeps the existing site, URLs, data and integrations; lowest SEO risk.
- Cons: Magento upgrades are rarely quick, often need extension and theme work and you'll face the same decision again in a few years.
- Best for: stores heavily customised around Magento with a budget for ongoing development.
2. Move to Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service (SaaS)
Adobe's own recommended route, where Adobe handles hosting, patching and upgrades.
- Pros: ends the upgrade cycle; stays in the Adobe ecosystem.
- Cons: enterprise pricing and it's still a significant migration project.
- Best for: larger businesses already paying for Adobe Commerce.
3. Switch to a community-maintained version
Magento Open Source or Mage-OS, a community fork. Neither is endorsed by Adobe, but both remain technically compatible and remove the licence fee.
- Pros: no licence cost; minimal change for Adobe Commerce users dropping down.
- Cons: you rely on the community for patches and still need developers.
- Best for: cost-conscious stores happy to self-manage.
4. Like-for-like migration to another platform - i.e. Magento to Shopify migration
Move to Shopify Plus, BigCommerce or similar, keeping the design, structure and content as close as possible.
- Pros: gets off the Magento upgrade treadmill for good; SaaS platforms handle security and PCI; usually lower running costs.
- Cons: URL structures will change, so full redirect mapping is essential; some custom functionality may need apps or rebuilding.
- Best for: most small to mid-sized stores that don't need Magento's level of customisation.
Learn more about our Magento to Shopify migration services
5. Full replatform and redesign
Same as option 4, but combined with a new design, UX and site structure.
- Pros: fixes everything in one project.
- Cons: highest cost and SEO risk, since you're changing platform, URLs, content and design at once, making ranking drops harder to diagnose.
- Best for: sites that are outdated anyway and need a rebuild.
For most B2B and trade clients of the size we work with here at Imaginaire, option 4 tends to be the sweet spot and it fits well with a Shopify Plus offering. The deciding factors are usually how custom the current build is, what integrations it relies on (ERP, trade pricing, B2B accounts) and the budget.
Is your Magento support ending? Get help from our ecommerce experts
Adobe is ending support for older Magento versions, leaving stores without security patches and exposed to PCI compliance risk.
Imaginaire can move you off Magento without the cost and disruption of a full rebuild.
Our like-for-like migrations keep your existing design, structure and content intact while switching you to a secure, fully supported platform, with full redirect mapping to protect your search rankings.
Or, in search of a bigger change? We also deliver complete replatforming and redesign projects.
Book your free discovery call with us today and we can run you through the most sensible options based on the size of your Magento store, your goals and your budget.
